Girls und Portals
by Sovietkitty
Summary: What if the events of Portal 1 occured with GuP characters? Will Saki survive the tests of Ooarai Science and manage to escape from the enrichment center and save her life? Who is the voice behind those walls, those test chambers, who is "she"?
1. Prologue : Test Chamber 00

**Author's note :  
>Hello, hello, here's a new story here, potatoes !~<br>This time, let me show you a GuP x Portal crossover... The idea came to my head right when I first played the game again after not playing it for long. I was thinking "Why wouldn't I rerun the story of Portal 1 but...with GuP characters ? That would be fun.".  
>I really hope you'll like it. I'm also translating the epilogue of The Cats now, and maybe I'll write some death one-shots because I love writing death scenes.~<strong>

**I keep saying it, but for those who have never read any of my stories, English isn't my first language and I try my best not to make too much mistakes. If you spot some, please tell me so I can correct them.**

**Enjoy, potato !**

* * *

><p><strong><span>PROLOGUE : Test Chamber 00<span>**

* * *

><p><em>"Maruyama Saki!"<br>"No," Aya said. "Not Saki."  
>"Saki Maruyama."<br>"No!" Yuuki protested. "Saki can't leave us!" _

* * *

><p>Saki Maruyama opened her eyes.<p>

She was in a strange room. The ceiling was gray; everything seemed to be made of glass and concrete.  
>Where was she? What was she doing there? How did she get there?<p>

Talking of glass, there was also some just above her head; no sooner had she regained consciousness, it opened like two doors, releasing the girl who rose.  
>She came out of what appeared to be a stasis bed and looked around. She was in a very small space. There was a toilet seat near her.<br>She was hearing music while she was awaking; turning her head, she realized it was from a radio placed on a shelf by the bed.

_"Where did I end up?..."_ she thought.

She began to walk round several times in this tiny room.

She saw herself in the reflection of the glass; she was in some sort of an orange cloth which reminded her of the members of the automotive club in Ooarai, except that it had short sleeves, her school uniform underneath, and weird, long and thin things attached to her knees, going along her calves without any contact with them and touching the ground.  
>She noticed, turning to her side, that she had a symbol on the back side of her jacket; however, she could contort herself in all directions, she couldn't see it in an entiere view.<p>

She continued to explore her little cell until a female, robotic voice was heard:

* * *

><p>"Hello and, again, welcome to the Ooarai Science computer-aided enrichment center."<p>

Saki startled. She had heard that voice somewhere, but more human and less robotic.  
>But to whom it belonged, that was the question.<p>

"We hope your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one", the robot said. "Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper."

"A test?" the girl whispered, a little confused.

The voice continued:

"Before we start, however, keep in mind that although fun and learning are the primary goals of all enrichment center activities, serious injuries may occur. You're not allowed to resist, otherwise you'll finish in the same way as Ishida Mitsunari when he had escaped after the defeat of Sekigahara."

Saki felt uncomfortable. Irreversible damage? But at which level? Where? At what intensity? And with death threats and a reference to someone she didn't even know?

"For your own safety and the safety of others, please refrain from touching anything-"  
><em>"But if I'm not allowed to touch anything... how do I go away from here?"<em> Saki thought, not really understanding what was happening.

A metallic buzz rang and the voice seemed to change. It was deformed and the sentence it said in bad Spanish was quite meaningless.

"Por favor bordón de fallar de muchas gracias de fallar gracias..."

Another glitch seemed to strike the robot and stopped suddenly, letting it speak again.

"Stand back. The portal will open in 3... 2... 1..."

A strange orange thing appeared in front of Saki. It faced another part of the room; moreover, the freshman was able to see through the other, which was blue-colored.  
>She got carefully her hand in and saw that it was appearing from the other side.<p>

_"Curious", _she told herself. After her hand, she passed the other, then cautiously, she went in with her whole body and realized that she had got out of the glass cell where she was.  
>She knew that teleportation could exist in the distant future, but she had never expected to get from one place to another using these odd portals.<p>

She went out through an open door and found herself in another room.

* * *

><p>The chamber was colorless, light grey, made of concrete as the first, and there was further a door, a strange glass tank and a big red button the ground just before her.<p>

Saki went up on it; the door opened. She went down; the door closed.

A cube fell from the glass tank which opened; the girl came to it and examined it.  
>It was grey, with prominent ridges; on each of its faces, there was a blue circle with a symbol that was most likely the same as the one she had on her back; a black coin with lines which made it look striped, like the aperture of a camera lens.<p>

She tried to carry it ; it wasn't very heavy. She thought for a long time then about what she was supposed to do with it, sitting on the cube.

_"Well... if the door opens when I'm on the button, it will open if this cube is on it," _she thought.

She went down, took the item, advanced to the button and put it on it; the weight of the cube activated the door, which opened.

The hallway behind it was leading to an elevator; just before it, an immaterial coating sparkled.

Saki got into the elevator. Its doors closed. The voice sounded again:

"Perfect, little one. Please go into the chamberlock after completing each test."

She felt that she was beginning to rise.

"I would like to draw your attention to the field of incandescent particles before each elevator. It's an Ooarai Science Material Emancipation Grill. It will disintegrate any unauthorized equipment that passes through it -for instance, the Ooarai Science Weighted Storage Cube- so the test subjects won't be able to bring anything from the test chamber with them."

Saki always asked herself the same question; who was that voice she managed to recognize without being able to put a face on it? Who was it? She was sure to have known someone with the same vocal timbre, the same way of speaking. It seemed strange to her. She didn't know who it was, but on the other hand, she knew, and this contradiction was bothering her.

She waited until the rise was over and when she got to the next floor, the elevator doors slid and she found herself in another test chamber.


	2. Chapter 1 : Test Chambers 01-04

**Author's note :  
><strong>**Hello dear potato!  
>Here's the first chapter of Girls und Portals. Saki keeps solving tests, that's all. But she may discover something, who knows...?<br>Anyway, I have to warn you that the next chapter might take time. School is very tiring and sometimes I don't have time for writing. I barely have time to draw some days, so it might take more time, but soon, I'll be in holidays.  
>I keep being like "stunned" by the shortness of my chapters compared to The Cats... but it's normal, I don't have much things to write and I prefer to do 3 or 4 test chambers per chapter so I keep the suspense on.~<br>Enjoy the chapter.~ **

* * *

><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 1 : Test Chambers 01-04<strong>

Saki walked and inspected at length where she had arrived.

There was a window in front of her, and behind it, a door. Another little room behind a glass wall was housing a cube. And on her left, behind another window, there was an identical one with a button like the one she encountered in the first test chamber.

She jumped down; an orange portal was leading to the small room with the cube.

But no sooner she was going to enter in, the blue portal changed walls; it was now leading to the room with the button.

_"But...what happens, what's wrong here?" _she thought, not understanding.

The robotic voice spoke again:

"Please place the Weighted Storage Cube on the Fifteen Hundred Megawatt Ooarai Science Heavy Duty Super-Colliding Super Button."

"What a name", Saki muttered.

How was she going to do to solve this puzzle?  
>She focused on the orange portal and took a good quarter of an hour to figure out how to proceed.<p>

Whenever the blue disappeared elsewhere, it was leading in a specific order to the cube first, then the button and the door. The orange didn't disappear.

So she had to wait to get her cube.

_"Ah, good, I got it. It isn't as hard as it seems..."_

When the blue portal was again connected to the room with the object, Saki came in and took it. She came back right after, finding herself again before the opposite portal.  
>Then the direction changed; Now it led to the button. Saki entered with the cube and put it on before going out again.<p>

"Perfect. Please move quickly to the chamberlock, as the effects of prolonged exposure to the Button are not part of this test."

She continued to ponder about who was speaking. Yes, it was someone she had known, but she still didn't manage to put a face on it!  
>Maybe she was hallucinating? She didn't know. She went back through the orange portal to reach the door.<p>

She stepped into the elevator and went up. She spent her time thinking. Even during these strange tests; she kept wondering what she was doing there, why she had probably been chosen, why she heard someone she had known talking to her, why she had to do that, if she would one day get out of here...

When she came out and walked down the hall, the voice spoke again:

"You're doing well, little one."

Saki found herself facing a closed door. To her left, there was a window that overlooked the testing room.

"Please be advised that a noticeable taste of blood is not part of any test protocol but is an unintended side effect of the Ooarai Science Material Emancipation Grill, which may, in semi-rare cases, emancipate dental fillings, crowns, tooth enamel, and teeth."

After the AI had finished her speech, the door opened onto a staircase.

Saki went down. She was behind a wall with a small window. A blue portal was glowing on the wall to her right. She walked in and was transported to the glass wall. She was now able to observe accurately the room where she was.

Something white, long and broad in some places was shooting portals through some kind of black clip. It was supported by a post that made it rotate.

The girl jumped below and approached.

"Well... if it can be useful, I'm taking it," she whispered, seizing the white item and putting it on her right arm.

She had a start when the voice talked again :

"Very good! You are now in possession of the Ooarai Science Handheld Portal Device. With it, you can create your own portals. These interdimensional gates have proven to be safe."

While Saki was aiming at the wall in front of her and pulled the trigger before coming out on top and going to the chamberlock, the robot spoke.

"The Device, however, has not."

She went into the Emancipation Gril and went into the elevator. It began to rise.

"Do not touch the operational end of The Device. Do not look directly at the operational end of The Device. Do not submerge The Device in liquid, even partially. Most importantly, under no circumstances should you-"

A big buzz followed by grinding and a few computer sounds was heard loudly. The AI which was talking seemed to have serious glitches.

The elevator doors opened again; Saki walked out of it and to the test area.

"Please proceed to the chamberlock. Mind the gap."

She looked at carefully. Before her, there was a pit. And further, an orange portal.

"This one looks simple. It mustn't be that complicated, in fact," she thought, trying to organize her ideas.

She pointed the generator on the wall to her right and created a blue portal; she passed through it and got transported on the other side.

There was a staircase in front of her; however, there wasn't any other that led to the next platform. She summoned another portal on the wall opposite to the chamberlock, behind her. She went there by the orange one, passed the blue, then went in the emancipation gril before finding herself in another elevator.

"Well done! Remember: The Ooarai Science Pick a Student for Showing her a Work Day is the perfect time to have her tested."

Saki wondered if that was why she was there. She didn't remember anything from the day before she was here to the minute she woke up. But otherwise, she clearly remembered her past in Ooarai, her childhood in the town of the same name as the school, her friends, their senpai, Miho Nishizumi, her classmate Akebi who practiced volleyball, she remembered many things.

She waited until she was up before continuing her way.

She went into the test chamber.

"Welcome to test chamber four. You're doing as well as Takeda Shingen at the Suwa campaign."

When she returned, there was another red button, a little further, this glass tank she had seen earlier with a cube inside.  
>Saki enabled the button to check if it opened the door . This was the case; she walked over to where the Vital Apparatus Vent, as it was called, was supposed to drop the cube.<p>

Underneath, there was a pit, the object fell from the lead and went down. A little radio, similar to the one she had in the Relaxation Vault, accompanying the cube, was broadcasting a pleasant music.  
>She remembered that there was an orange portal some meters away from the button. She created a blue portal under the cube in order to retrieve it.<p>

She moved up to it and carried it on the button, opening the door.

"Once again, excellent work !" the AI congratulated. "As part of a required test protocol, we will not monitor the next test chamber. You will be entirely on your own. Good luck, little one."

Saki noticed that the robot was talking in a rather friendly voice this time.  
><em>"Can I really trust her ?" <em>she kept asking herself.

She went, once again, in an elevator. She pondered about why she wouldn't be monitored. She hadn't paid attention to the cameras around her. She simply kept solving tests. It wasn't bothering her to be observed; what mattered to her was to do what she was told so she could go away from here.

When the elevator stopped, she prepared herself for the test chamber that followed.


	3. Chapter 2 : Test Chambers 05-08

**Author's note :  
>Hello potatoes !~<br>Here's the new chapter ! I'm sorry for having taken so long to write it. ;o; School, lots of things to do... pfft, haven't had lots of time.  
>Now I'm on holidays for two weeks so I might write faster. It will depend on my inspiration and lots of other things.<br>But Chapter 3 will come in some time. **

**Enjoy this chapter !  
><strong>

* * *

><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 2 : TEST CHAMBERS 05-08<strong>

* * *

><p>Saki came out of the elevator.<br>She walked and observed the Test Chamber 05, the one in which she was now.

There were two red buttons, both connected to a door; when she turned back, she noticed a pit and just ahead, on both opposite sides of the room, a platfor, one with a cube and a second with an orange portal.  
>The test seemed a little difficult to her. If she had only one cube and couldn't create orange portals, how would she activate the door?<p>

She began to think. If she went on the platform via the warm-colourd portal, she could create another one on the opposite side and retrieve the object. But she hesitated to approach the pit. Maybe it was a trap? She didn't really know.  
>She walked to the edge, dreading to fall. Down here, there was a second cube.<p>

_"Ah, good, I knew there was one which was missing,"_ she thought.

She pressed the trigger of her generator and created the blue portal under the cube, then stepped back and did the same on the wall beside her. She grabbed the Weighted Storage Cube and carried it to one of the two buttons.  
>Then, she returned where she had picked her item, went by the orange gate and threw a blue one on the opposite wall, then took her cube. She went down and put it on the other button, opening the door.<p>

She went inside: she was under a glass pane and there was a small radio, and as soon as she had entered, the doors closed.  
>"As part of a required test protocol, our previous statement suggesting that we wouldn't monitor this chamber was an outright fabrication", the voice said. "But otherwise, good job ! I'm proud of you ! As part of a required test protocol, we will stop enhancing the truth in three, two..."<br>The sound went blurry, glitchy, then stopped.  
>Saki noticed that an orange portal had appeared at the top, above the glass on the ceiling. Without any hesitation, she created her blue gate and went out quickly before going into the chamberlock.<p>

In the next room, which was rather long, there was on the left an orange portal on the floor and on the ceiling, right in the center, a round, white thing, which emitted small energy balls which ricocheted several times before exploding and desintegrating. Another one came from the issuer almost immediately after the first one had vanished.  
>On her right, there was what appeared to be a receiver for these little things. It emitted an orange-red glow that went straight to the ceiling. The walls weren't all made of concrete as in the previous rooms; they were covered with a chocolate-coloured coating with a metallic appearance.<p>

Saki was about to move when the voice sounded again:

"While safety is one of many Enrichment Center goals, the Ooarai Science High Energy Pellet, seen to the left of the chamber, can and has caused permanent disabilities, such as vaporization. It will make you look like gunpowder, so be careful."  
>Just after, Saki fired a portal in the direction of one of the brown walls; the surface wasn't conductive to portals. The blue glowing gate thing couldn't be created.<p>

_"Well... I have to find another solution." _

She looked up to her right. The ceiling seemed portal-able; she pulled the trigger and the blue portal was thrown on the concrete.  
>Having understood something, she aimed at the orange glow and waited for the High Energy Pellet to go to its catcher. The latter was activated with a loud noise.<p>

"Unbelievable! You, _Subject Name Here_, must be the pride of _Subject Hometown Here_."

_"Saki Maruyama of Ooarai. I really doubt that I'm the pride of my city, though... Still, people can like me, yes, but at this point, maybe not, after all, many people find that I don't talk enough. But I don't have much to say... I just don't know how to say things. Thinking is better."_

She walked up to a platform that behaved like an elevator and was brought up. She then went through the emancipation grid and went into the chamberlock.

The elevator's doors closed. It began to climb, then stopped at the next floor.

* * *

><p>Saki inspected her new test environment.<p>

She was on top of a staircase. Before her down, there was again an orange portal on the ground. On the left, a High Energy Pellet launcher ; they banged on the wall and left a small black mark after hitting the concrete. At the back of the room, a platform was attached to a bar, but wasn't moving.  
>On the ceiling, directly above the orange gate, there was a High Energy Pellet catcher.<p>

"Warning devices are required on all mobile equipment. However, alarms and flashing hazard lights have been found to agitate the high energy pellet and have therefore been disabled for your safety."

Saki just had to look where the electric balls crashed into the wall to create her blue gate. As she was doing the tests, she was getting better and better.  
>The Pellet went through the portal; it activated the receptor and the platform began to move.<p>

"Good. Now use the Ooarai Science Unstationary Scaffold to reach the chamberlock."

Saki wondered how she would reach it. It was way too high for her; moreover, with The Device, she couldn't hold on to anything; her own weight was outweighing her to the ground and she would fall.  
>She noticed concrete slabs on the ceiling; she created her blue portal and went through the orange one.<p>

Once or twice, she had to move her portal ; the platform wasn't quite in the axis and she missed the platform.  
>After replacing her blue gate, she jumped at the right time and landed on the scaffold.<p>

Upon entering the chamberlock, she wondered how long it would last. She almost began to like these tests; however, she realized that the more she did, the more they became dangerous. One bad step and she could die. She risked her life every second in the name of a science that was unknown to her. Moreover, it still wasn't clear to her about who was the voice. Even after eight test chambers, she still didn't remember. Yet it was someone she had known, she never ceased to say it to herself.

* * *

><p>When she came out of the chamberlock, the voice spoke again:<p>

"Please note that we have added a consequence for failure. Any contact with the chamber floor will result in an 'unsatisfactory' mark on your official testing record followed by death as you will be executed. Good luck!"

The room in which she found herself confirmed her fears.

She passed on a bridge; below, the entire floor of the room, everything was submerged under at least two meters deep water by a strange, green water shaken by reddish swirls. Greenish smoke was emanating from it. Saki chose not to know what it was. Mud, acid?  
>On the wall to her left, a high-energy pellet launcher had produced one that struck the opposite wall. An orange portal in the center of the wall was in front of a platform. On the right, an Unstationary Scaffold wasn't moving; therefore it was necessary that Saki activates the energy pellet receiver.<br>It was on the right, a little further. Its orange light was indicating its location on the opposite wall.

Saki spent several minutes looking to try to understand how the test chamber was working.  
>She created her blue gate at her side, crouched for not being hit by the energy pellet and tried to solve the puzzle by creating a portal to where the little ball crashed into the wall. It exploded shortly before striking it; another got created and passed the gate, ricocheted off the other wall and returned to its original position.<br>The girl had the idea to move the blue portal on the orange light after the small sphere had passed through the warm-coloured gate.

The energy ball was received by the receptacle; the scaffold moved.

After it had returned to its original position, Saki went through a blue portal she created next to it and went into the chamberlock by jumping on the platform.

"Very impressive. Please note that any appearance of danger is merely a device to enhance your testing experience."

_"And what if I die ?"_ she thought. _"Would other test subjects come after me or would Ooarai Science go bankrupt?"_

She went into the elevator, wondering about how hazardous the next test chamber would be. It made her feel a sense between the deep apprehension and some form of excitement.  
>Basically, she wasn't sure if she enjoyed being afraid of dying or if she was just going crazy. In any case, what mattered to her now was to survive until the end.<p> 


	4. Chapter 3 : Test Chambers 09-12

**Author's note :  
>Hi my loved potato !<br>Here's the third chapter of Saki's adventure in the Enrichment Center of Ooarai Science situated in Japan... Wow, how do I know it ? :'D  
>School begins this Monday, so it's on November 3rd, so the fourth chapter might take time... I'm inspired for it, but I sometimes write other things besides this crossover. I have so much projects, I tend to want to do everything at once, it's a big weakness, in fact...<br>I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, potato. See you ! **

* * *

><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 3 : TEST CHAMBERS 09-12<strong>

* * *

><p>Saki came out of the elevator and started walking in the small hallway leading to the test chamber. She began to observe when the voice spoke again:<p>

"The Enrichment Center regrets to inform you that this next test is impossible. Don't give any try."

_"Why has it been created, then?" _the girl thought, finding it was a bit silly to make an unsolvable room. _"There is always a solution."_

She looked around her.  
>This room was much less dangerous than the latter one, which shows all the tests weren't as risky.<br>A cube on the right further ahead had fallen from the Vital Apparatus Vent. On the left, always before her, there was a platform and an orange portal leading to it.  
>To her right, an Emancipation Grid and a small hole in the wall were splitting the test chamber in two parts, the second one behind them having a button on the ground and the chamberlock.<p>

Saki began to think. She decided to try to pass the cube to remove one of her assumptions; as soon as it touched the parcticle field, it got disintegrated.

"The Enrichment Center apologizes for this clearly broken test chamber."

_"Well, now, let's forget about it"_, she thought by going back to the vital apparatus vent which dropped another cube.

She created a blue portal on the wall behind the cube, took it and went through the gate. She stood on the platform, looking around.  
>Again, as in the first test chamber, she sat on the cube and tried to find a solution by herself.<p>

"Once again, the Enrichment Center offers its most sincere apologies on the occasion of this unsolvable test environment."

"It isn't unsolvable, I'll resolve it," Saki murmured, determined to understand how the test chamber worked.

She thought the hole on the top of the wall would might be affected by the emancipation grid. No, otherwise there would be small incandescent particles that would float in the air. Here, there was none.

She realized she could create a portal there.

She did it just after: her blue thing didn't get blocked. She picked her cube and went through the portal, and then placed it on the button, which activated the door.

"Fantastic! You remained resolute and resourceful in an atmosphere of extreme pessimism. To be honest, you succeeded as much as Oda Nobunaga did at Nagashino in 1575. He won this battle, it's a compliment! "

Saki went into the elevator. She found that the robot that was constantly talking to her was acting friendly with her. But if it was someone she had known by the tankery club, she doubted that she would be aggressive towards her. Everyone got along in this club.

But had the AI kept her old memories? It was a good question.

* * *

><p>The climb ended: Saki left the entrance chamberlock and found herself in a new room, it was already the tenth.<br>There, she was in front of a raised staircase that was too high for her.  
>An orange portal was on a vertical platform that was detached from the wall and had advanced, supported by steel beams.<p>

"Hello again. To reiterate..."

The voice slowed down.

"...warning : This test..."

Then, it sped up :  
>"our previous..."<p>

The sound became garbled, then it finished :

"...-ward momentum."

Saki wondered how such glitches could affect this robot. She hadn't understood anything and didn't know what to do.  
>But looking back behind her, she ended up having an idea and created a blue portal on the wall. She ran and jumped through it; she was transported on the stairs.<p>

The door before her opened. She went throught it, then inspected the test environment.

The walls weren't compatible with the portals; the chocolate-coloured, metallic-like coating covered them.

She was on the edge of a pit; the ground down But looking back behind her, she ends up having an idea and created a blue portal on the wall. She ran and jumped through; she found herself on the stairs.

The door before it opened, inspected and it passed the test environment.

The walls were not compatible with the portals; chocolate coating covered them.

It was on the brink of a pit; the ground before of her showed two pictograms which indicated it was a room that taught how to propel oneself using portals.

After the pit, there was a door leading to another part of the test room.

Downstairs, the floor was portal-able ; she looked behind her, an orange was on a vertical platform further from the wall, supported by a metal beam behind.  
>She looked once again at the pictographs; they showed how to be propelled.<p>

Saki created her blue portal where she would fall and jumped into the pit.

When she came out of the orange, she flew to the other side of the small room and landed on her feet. Her heart pounded wildly. It was the first time she had such a strong feeling, even after tankery.

"Spectacular. You appear to understand how a portal affects forward momentum, or to be more precise, how it does not."

She walked straight and went into the next part of the test chamber.

There were three levels: at the bottom, the ground on which was placed an orange portal, close to a staircase, a middle "floor", then the third one leading to the chamberlock.  
>A wall behind, above Saki, advanced. She then knew she had to summon her blue portal here. She did and jumped in the orange; she got thrown on the second level, not without failing to hit the wall.<p>

"Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is conserved between portals. In layman's terms: Speedy-thing goes in, speedy-thing comes out."

Part of the piece of wall that had advanced, the highest and widest, stepped forward again, allowing Saki to go to the chamberlock if she did what she had done for going where she was.  
>She didn't even try to understand; she ran straight into the void and was thrown forward, landing just before the emancipation grid.<p>

She got into the elevator and waited for the next floor.

* * *

><p>Saki, just after getting out of it, entered the testing room.<p>

She walked up to some sort of room protected by a glass wall.  
>Downstairs, the floor was submerged with goo; on the center of the room, a platform had a portal generator that created orange ones turning to change wall on it. On the left, a high energy pellet receiver was attached to the wall. Above it, there was a door that slid vertically if one activated a button that certainly was somewhere not far away. On the wall opposite to Saki, facing her, there was another sliding door; it was connected to a button that was down in some sort of cave. Farther to the right, another big window also protected another part of the test chamber. An unstationary scaffold remained motionless near the portal device.<p>

She heard the voice again :

"The Enrichment Center promises to always provide a safe testing environment. In dangerous testing environments, the Enrichment Center promises to always provide useful advice. For instance, the floor here will kill you - if you could try to avoid it..."

_"Safe, safe, I highly doubt it..." _

Saki took several minutes to understand how to proceed. This room seemed complicated to her; however, she wouldn't give up.

She created her blue portal on the wall next to her. The orange one changed position a few seconds between each. When it was created near her, she passed through it and pressed the button.

The top door on the opposite wall opened; she shot her blue portal before it closed. Wanting to come back, she began to return to the orange, but it was created elsewhere when she came in; Saki took the wall in the face. She painfully rubbed her forehead and resumed the test.

She waited for the orange portal to be summoned again and then went in.

She found herself in a room with a high-energy pellet that was hitting a wall behind the door.  
>The girl realized something. She had guide the little ball of energy to the receiver which was on the other side.<br>She heard the noise of the device creating the orange portal on the wall opposite the receptacle; naturally, she moved her blue portal where the energy ball hit the wall.

It got transported in the right axis and struck the receiver. The unstationary scaffold began to move.

Saki moved her blue gate again and waited for the orange to be created in front of the glass wall. When she could, she stepped forward and let herself being brought to central pillar of the room.

There, she took the portal device. Now, she controlled both portals.

"It will be easier right now!" she whispered, a small smile on her face.

A switch emerged from the goo in front of her just after while the voice spoke again:

"Congratulations, little one. The Device has been modified so that it can now manufacture two linked portals at once. As part of an optional test protocol, we are pleased to present an amusing fact."

"Thank you," Saki whispered, full of happiness, though not expecting what the AI was going to say.

"The Device is now more valuable than the organs and combined incomes of everyone in Subject Hometown Here."

This phrase disconcerted the girl. What did the robot mean by that?

She paid no more attention to it and pushed the button.  
>A door leading to the chamberlock opened; Saki created her orange portal there.<br>Then she shot her blue one on the wall near the unstationary scaffold and mounted on it.  
>Once she was behind the door, she turned to her left and entered the elevator.<p>

When it stopped moving, she went out and noticed that the walls weren't portal-able.  
>She walked into the room. The voice sounded again, but seemed confused.<p>

"Fling yourself..."

A garbling sound made the rest of the sentence unintelligible.

"...fling into the-"

Another prevented it from finishing.

Saki looked to her right. There was a staircase leading to a small pit. Downstairs, the floor was conductive to portals; she chose to make an orange portal. She looked above; an advanced vertical platform gave her access to a second level if she jumped into her gate and got propulsed.

She created her blue here. She rushed into the void and was brought on the second floor of the room.  
>At the intermediate level, she looked above once again; another vertical platform was advanced. She brought her cool-coloured portal here and repeated the gesture she made to reach the floor where she was.<p>

She got projected on a large platform where there was a button on its ground. Behind it, on the wall, an inclined platform was there. And just in the right axis, another floor leading to a closed door which protected the chamberlock and could be opened by a button that was connected to it. A Vital apparatus vent released a weighted storage cube.

After creating a blue portal on the sloping platform, she came down to the second level and jumped back into the orange.

When she flew out of the orange portal, she almost wished to have wings to fly in this room. She felt like she had felt the marine wind of Ooarai, or like she could feel the wind blowing on her face when she got her head out of her hatch in the M3 Lee. The adrenaline could rise in her, she enjoyed this thrilling sensation. However, on her face, it was hardly visible.

She landed near her cube. From there she could jump on the lower floor and place it on the button. She took it with her and put it on the big red thing. The door opened.

Then she jumped again through the orange and flew for a short time again. She passed the emancipation grid, tired but elated.

"Weeeee..."

The sound began to sizzle. The AI seemed to have serious problems sometimes.  
>Saki didn't expect to have fun in some tests. But deep down, was she liking it? Was she somewhat masochist? Or wasn't she simply seeing something crucial?<p> 


	5. Chapter 4 : Test Chambers 13-16

**Author's note :  
>WOW THIS ONE TOOK ME SO LONG xD<br>I'm glad I could finish it ! I've been tired and busy lately so it took long... The next one might take long as well, but I'm also writing one olr two one-shots besides, so it can explain the delay.  
>I can't plan so I don't know when the next chapter will come. TnT It will come, that's sure, but I'll make sure to release it in less than a month.<br>Enjoy this one. **

* * *

><p><span><strong>CHAPTER 4 : TEST CHAMBERS 13-16<strong>

* * *

><p>"Now that you are in control of both portals, this next test could take a very, VERY, long time."<p>

Saki was now in the thirteenth test room, as indicated by the huge white illuminated sign which was at the entrance of each room, showing the chamber number and its hazards.

"If you become light-headed from thirst, feel free to pass out. An intubation associate will be dispatched to revive you with peptic salve and adrenaline."

Then, the voice stopped while the girl was inspecting the test environment as she always did.

She was in a part of the test room that overlooked the other part by a glass wall. To her left, a button was on the floor. Two long mesh platforms gave access to a cube and to a door leading to the next part of the test.  
>Saki understood immediately; she created her gates so as to pick up the object, then went down by the same way and put it on the button, which activated the door.<p>

From where she went, she overlooked the whole room. It allowed her to see better.

A platform containing a big button was almost at her height; however, even if she jumped, she wouldn't be able to reach it without portals.

A little further and a little more shifted to the right, another platform looked the same, however it was lower. At the same level, a high energy pellet hit the wall and passed over the lower platform. She should, therefore, resolve this part of the test before going to the buttons.  
>On the ground, a receiver of these little energy balls was aiming at the ceiling.<br>On the right, an unstationary scaffold remained motionless. A cube was placed on it.

Saki, gazing at the final door, noticed that both buttons were linked to it.  
>How would she complete the test with a single cube, knowing she could not go for the other?<p>

She jumped down and was still surprised that the two rods supporting her legs weren't yet broken.

She placed a blue portal at the location of the reddish glow emitted by the receiver; she put the other on the black smudge that was marking the spot where the ball crashed into the wall.

The sphere passed and activated its receptacle. The non-stationary scaffold began to move.

Everything seemed logical in Saki's mind and eyes; it finally wasn't that complicated.

She noticed that, in addition to non-conductive coating that was sticking on some walls, there was a portal-able surface of the ceiling, on a place just above the glass platform's trajectory.

She didn't even take the time to think; just before the scaffold arrived at this level, she placed her blue portal there and invoked the orange under her feet; She mastered better and better the technique and landed near the cube.  
>There, she took it and went down. She saw that the ceiling above the buttons wasn't covered in this brown metallic think; she decided to put her cube on the first button in front of which she went out of the previous part of the test chamber, using her portals.<p>

The chamberlock door was partially activated; Saki summoned another portal and moved the one which was over the object, then jumped on the button.

The chamberlock was now reachable; she shot a portal behind the door, then went down and went inside the one that served to get her on the button, on the ground.

"As part of a previously mentioned required test protocol, we can no longer lie to you. When the testing is over, you will be missed."

Saki went through the emancipation grid and the elevator's doors. She waited almost impatiently for the end of her climb.

* * *

><p>After reaching the next floor, Saki noticed that in front of her, when she entered the testing room, a platform leading to the chamberlock wouldn't move and remained high. She knew she would have to unlock something.<p>

"All subjects intending to handle high-energy gamma leaking portal technology must be informed that they may be informed of applicable regulatory compliance issues. No further compliance information is required or will be provided, and you are an excellent test subject! I'm proud of you, really."

She first turned her head to the right; a button was on the ground and was connected to a door. On the walls, there was the coating that didn't allow to summon portals; when Saki activated the button by mounting on it, she saw that there was the same thing on the other side.

So she gave up using herself to open the door and then create her portals.

On the left, a long, wide hallway was leading to what appeared to be a cul-de-sac. The walls no longer had the coating on them.  
>Saki was impressed when, at her approach, the ground rose in small parts, forming a staircase that led her to the top.<p>

_"Who knows, it could be this girl who always talks to me that makes everything work... Or maybe there's a motion sensor somewhere,"_ she mused.

After going up the stairs, she had before her a receiver of high energy pellets pointing the ceiling with its reddish light.  
>Further, on a pedestal covered with non-usable for portals material, a cube was there. She understood that it was going to serve to open the door.<p>

Also, she noticed that the opposite wall was conductive to portals: it didn't take her thirty minutes to shoot one near the stairs that was now a pit, creating another gate, jump through and get her cube.  
>The girl understood better and better the logic of this strange science; the ground where she had jumped rose again, making stairs once again like when she approached for the first time.<br>She went down and put the cube on the button; the door opened.

Saki walked down another hallway, then turned and ended in another part of the test chamber.

A pit before her was filled with goo. A platform leading to a central pillar went down; on the other side, there was a same one, but it was offset from the first and didn't lower in the deadly water immediately.  
>The surfaces were portal-able; not wanting to risk to hurt herself with possible residues of mud on the platforms, she created a passage from one side to the other and ran quickly to the other end of the room.<p>

She went in a smaller part of the room where a high-energy pellet hit the wall. Saki remembered the sphere receiver in the previous part of the test environment; she created a blue portal where the small ball marked its impact.

However, it went through the orange portal. Saki sighed; she didn't want to use the platform and was now obliged to. Without much conviction, she waited until the ground was safe and passed here.

When she was back where she came from, she waited for the ball to struck the wall in her direction and return to its launcher; then, she passed quickly and went back to the stairs that had reformed.

Reaching the top, she placed her gate and waited for the energy ball to go into its receptacle.

With a noise, it activated when the electricity that emanated from the little thing touched some sort of magnetic field.

"Very, very good. A complimentary victory lift has been activated in the main chamber."

Saki remembered the glass plate that was still. She went down and on the platform that began to rise.  
>Then, she went into the chamberlock and was transported to the next floor.<p>

Saki went out. She looked at the bright white sign in front of it. Test chamber 15.

"The Enrichment Center is committed to the well being of all participants. Cake and grief counseling will be available at the conclusion of the test. Thank you for helping us help you help us all."

She entered the room.  
>Before her, there was a wide glass screen overlooking another part of the chamber, leading to a hallway and just above an emancipation grid up to the ceiling.<p>

It seemed to her that the ground wasn't compatible with the portals. Neither the walls, besides, except the most remote.

She turned ; a high panel had advanced off the wall behind her.

She spent several minutes asking herself how before noticing that part of the floor was coloured like some sort of a checkerboard. She tried to summon a portal; it got conducted.  
>She created a second one on the advanced panel, then jumped into her portal on the ground.<br>She passed through the highest, then recrossed the lowest and was projected behind the emancipation grid.

Saki went into the small hallway in front of her; turning on the left, it led to another part of the test chamber.

The walls, to a certain height, weren't compatible with the portals.  
>Two large alcoves were protected by emancipation grids. However, in the deepest, a high-energy pellet went through one of them without being damaged. Saki then deduced that these little balls weren't affected by the grids.<br>Saki had the reflex to create her first gate on the impact mark of the small thing.

She looked into the alcove that was closer to a passage that led to the next part of the test environment; there was a receiver.

It didn't take her long to understand; she invoked her other portal in the axis of the grid, and passed through it when she was on the right side before recreating a new portal on the impact mark and direct the electrified ball to the receptacle.

Upon contact, it activated.

Saki advanced to a glass platform that rose before an emancipation grid she passed through.  
>She went out and found herself in the next part of the chamber.<p>

The room was very similar to the very first; part of the floor, however, wasn't conductive to portals. There was, again, a glowing particles field and unusable walls for gates. It looked like some sort of copy of the first one, except that on the left, a staircase leading to another small room which contained a pit.

Saki first took time to understand how to proceed; she only noticed after ten minutes that there was, also, a checkerboard on the ground.

She realized she would have to act with precision; without hesitation, she placed a portal on the top forward of the piece of wall and went into the room with the pit.  
>She created the opposite gate on the floor and jumped in, then, just before falling on the bicolour marking, shot her portal and replaced it, then was thrown to the other side of the room.<p>

She looked behind her; it didn't seem that hard to her, actually.

Where she was now, when she turned, she saw that there was on the wall two devices for high energy pellets; a receiver on the left and a launcher on the right.

On the other side, two inclined panels were here to guid the pellet to its receptor. An emancipation grid cut the room in halves again.

Saki noticed that the walls were portal-ables up to her height. Above, when she looked to the other side of the room, there was an advanced piece of wall like in many chambers she had completed.  
>Further to the right, when she turned her back to the particle field, there was a passage leading to a place where a non-stationary scaffold remained motionless.<br>She was sent to the part of the room where the inclined panels were. She watched the ball when it was generated by the launcher; it ricocheted off one of them, touched the wall and was about to explode near its receptacle.

She created her blue portal where the sphere, after hitting the panel, touched the wall, and her orange on the opposite wall.

The energy ball crossed the first gate, went through the second, tapped on the opposite panel and went to the receiver that made electrical noise when it activated.

Saki rejoined the other end of the room by being projected through portals she made, quickly measuring the distance to which she would jump. She walked to the scaffold that wasn't still anymore; it disappeared in a kind of wall after reaching her level.

She noticed that there was not one, but several platforms; further, there was an icon with an arrow. A non-stationary scaffold headed to Saki.  
>She understood how to proceed; she launched a portal on the wall where was the indication and put another beside her.<p>

When the glass platform was a good distance away, she walked through the portal and went on it,, then pulled the trigger and shot another portal on the opposite wall. She repeated the process until she got into a new room.

She looked around once she was inside; an elevator was leading to the chamberlock. It was the last part of this very long test chamber.  
>A high-energy pellet was bouncing on the ground; next to it, a lift leading to a small alcove, protected by a glass window, with a switch inside. There was another, identical little room, on the other side. There was also a more advanced wall on the top, which was facing a door lined with another, operated by both switches.<p>

Saki tested something ; she pressed one of the little buttons. One of the sliding doors opened. A ticking sounded. Then, after a few seconds, it closed.  
>She understood that she had to do everything quickly : she concentrated and started by projecting a portal on a wall and another in one of the small room parts, then pushed the button. She then created another one in the opposite, then pressed the switch. She placed portals, one on the burning mark, the other on the advanced panel, for leading the energy ball into the small space with the receivers.<p>

The small ball entered in just before the timer had shut the doors. The receptacle was activated. The victory lift went down.

"Did you know you can donate one or all of your vital organs to the Ooarai Science self esteem fund for girls? It's true! Believe me, little one!"

_"But how can I do tests if I gave my organs...?"_ Saki thought.

She passed the emancipation grid and once again waited until the next floor.

* * *

><p>Saki passed the door of the entrance chamberlock. She was in front of the entrance of the next room, which was on her left. Before her, there was the sign indicating that it was the Test Chamber 16.<p>

"I have to tell you that due to mandatory scheduled maintenance, the appropriate chamber for this testing sequence is currently unavailable. It has been replaced with a live-fire course designed for military androids."

The girl had a start. A live-fire course? Was she going to die?

"The Enrichment Center apologizes for the inconvenience and wishes you the best of luck. Ah, yes, please do me a favour, don't get shot by a turret as far as possible. I don't want to lose one of my best test subjects."

The door opened. Saki walked in carefully.

She was in a small room; it was protected, as in many others, by a glass wall.

She looked at the thing that was on her left, at the entrance of a corridor of nonconductive walls; it was a curious robot that looked somewhat ovoid, elliptical; white-coloured, it had on its frontal face a red eye that seemed to target a wall. Nothing to Saki indicated that it could be dangerous to her, except if she went in the laser's light.  
>She heard a small robotic voice.<p>

"Hello?"

Then another one.

"Sentry mode activated!"

Not knowing from whence the sound came, she noticed that the little things that were behind the big window deployed some kinds of "wings" and their viewfinder moved.

Saki gave a little kick to the android before her ; it fell down.

"Ooooh!" it said.

She jumped. It opened its wings and began to fire a burst of bullets. After that, it closed, shut down.

"I don't hate you" it finished, deactivating.

Suddenly, she felt that she was afraid. With what was she going to come across now?

She walked over and turned on the right. A laser was targeting the wall. Another turret was there.  
>She shot a portal on the wall opposite to her and walked carefully. Luckily, the wall behind the android was conductive to portals. But by the time she spent in its field of vision to create her passage0 and pulled the trigger for the blue, it opened.<p>

"Deploying" it said.

It fired; Saki quickly dismissed to avoid taking a shot.

But she wasn't fast enough; she felt a terrible pain in her shoulder, then looked at it.  
>A little blood had stained the ground; she had been touched. Still, she went behind by her gate and overthrew the robot.<p>

It shot another burst of bullets, and then closed, still talking.

"No hard feelings..." it let out.

All the walls in the hallway that followed were usable.  
>Turning left, she saw another viewfinder light. More quickly this time, she invoked again a portal near the turret and another near herself.<br>She found herself behind it; when the robot opened its wings, she pushed it with the generator and deactivated it.

"Critical error" it pronounced while shutting down.

Then, she came in another part of the room.  
>There, there was a glass partition that protected her from a turret. Another was on the opposite side of the room; the viewfinder was visible. The walls weren't conductive, but when Saki receded a bit, she saw that the ceiling was and there was a cross drawn above the android.<p>

To the left, there were two cubes and a kind of secret room. She jumped when, on the ground, in red, she saw 'Help' written messily.

Near the two cubes she moved, there was a black handprint on the wall.

Saki stooped and entered the secret room.  
>She looked at the wall and what she discovered there made her feel uncomfortable.<p>

Black, still, the inscription "the cake is a lie" was repeated, forming five lines.  
>A drawing of a cube falling from a hole was scrawled underneath.<br>A turret was also drawn carelessly.  
>"Can I help you?" was written next to it.<br>To the right, strokes united by five were repeated, like some sort of a counting, as if the person who had done all this was under the grip of an unsustainable stress.

Saki felt more and more scared.

An old poster advertising Ooarai Science had been carelessly glued there. Two red arrows pointing a drawing of a red sphere were scrawled too. Top right, another paper showing the cake with the inscription "TASTY" was hung in the same way as the Ooarai advertising.  
>Another hand mark.<p>

Lines everywhere,  
>everywhere,<br>lines everywhere.

Saki gulped. Was she in danger, really? Was she in a difficult situation? Was the entity that spoke to her everytime really wishing her well, actually?  
>Or was she trying to manipulate her by promising her cake? And for what? Killling her? Detain her for life? Do her good? Bad? All hustled into the girl's head.<p>

She quickly got out of there, oppression taking over her chest.  
>Protecting herself with a cube, she slightly advanced to the turret that fired at sight and launched her portal on the ceiling just above. She quickly pulled away, took the second object and invoked her opposite portal under her feet while the android was trying to snipe her through the glass.<p>

She realized her mistake when, after overthrowing the first, the second was firing at her. Without any hesitation, she grabbed the cube and walked to the little robot, shooting another portal above it and drop down by her other one.

Another turret behind another glass wall shot at her. She took a few bullets. Blood flew on the wall. It hurt. Pain tugged her upper back and her injured shoulder.

She hid in a place where the android couldn't reach her. From there, she could create a portal behind the glass. Always with the cube that served as her shield, she went to a place where the ground was conductive. When she was behind the window, she created her gate under her feet and found herself behind the turret.

With her portal device, she grabbed one of the robots and released it on the other one. They both fell and deactivated.  
>In a small room with glass partitions on one side, there was a pile of cubes. There was, on one of them, a small radio. Saki didn't mind and focused on how she would proceed.<br>She took a cube in the pile and came back to the opening that led to the last turrets of this part of the chamber. Crouching, she aimed at a cross drawn on the ceiling, pressed one of the triggers and hid quickly.

Then, she created her other portal under her object.

She heard the turret utter an "Aaaah" and release its last hail of bullets, then shut down.

From there, she could disable one that was in front of her and was in back view; she didn't refrain and threw it off balance.  
>The hardest part was going to be the third turret that stood in a corner. She was going to have to be quick to aim at the cross above it and shoot, then retreat and summon a portal under her feet to fall on the android.<p>

That's what she did; when it died, the little robot delivered a "I don't blame you...".

Saki then took back the cube and put it on a ground button that was near a door.

It opened; a turret was behind a grid. The girl pressed one of two triggers, aiming the wall behind and moved quickly and went into the opposite portal she had created under herself earlier, used to disable the latter turret.

She found herself behind it; she grabbed the robot and overthrew it. To her left, again, another turret was facing a wall.

Saki used her portals to get to its side; precisely at this point, a passage was leading to the chamberlock. She chose to dissolve the little thing in the emancipation grid; she entered the elevator just after the dematerialization of the turret.

"Well done, android. The Enrichment Center once again reminds you that android hell is a real place where you will be sent at the first sign of defiance."

As she rose, she asked herself a question.  
>How dangerous would be the next test chamber ?<p> 


End file.
